Candy shop savors its sugar-coated reputation

JENNIFER BROWN/THE STAR-LEDGERPamela Mittleman looks over the bins of candy at her shop Ain't We Sweet in Livingston. The candy store is filled with chocolates, "penny candies, " jelly beans, gummies and more.

My youngest child is 16 and 6-foot-1, and if he knew I was writing about him, he'd be embarrassed.

What doesn't embarrass him is the chocolate bunny that shows up on the kitchen table every year on Easter morning. Bowls may have replaced baskets, but there's still green "grass," jellybeans, nuts, dried fruits and, of course, marshmallow Peeps.

Easter chocolates and the bunny who brings them transcend cultural traditions, I believe, and this really rings true at Ain't We Sweet in Livingston, where owner Pamela Mittleman has been making kosher chocolate Easter bunnies for years -- along with chocolate-covered matzo for Passover.

That's just what's hopping this time of year. Mittleman has created a real candy store with everything from penny candy to truffles. You can come in and buy one Mary Jane or a bag of licorice, choose a few of your favorites to go on a gift platter, or ask her to set up a full-scale candy bar at your event.

I chose to sample my way through the store, starting with pretzels ($1.75 to $2) hand-dipped in chocolate, then topped with M&Ms, chocolate chips, Reese's pieces, nonpareils, Sno-Caps, jelly grahams, toffee, chocolate or rainbow sprinkles, chocolate-covered Oreos or peanut butter-chocolate chips. Don't you just love that sweet and salty combination?

Then it was on to the gummy section ($5.95 per pound): Swedish fish, gummy bears and worms, Sour Patch Kids, sour watermelon and peaches, chocolate-covered gummies, cherry, sour apple and blue raspberry licorice -- if you can chew and smile at the same time, this aisle is for you.

If you're a licorice lover, you've got to try Mittleman's black or red licorice from Australia ($8.95 per pound). It's really different from the usual -- meatier, very intense and full of flavor. While you're munching a piece, walk on down to the Jelly Belly display; there are 27 flavors ($9.95 per pound). My favorite is pomegranate -- how do they make them taste so real?

M&Ms have their own corner at Ain't We Sweet. Did you know there are 21 colors ($12.95 per pound)? Call me a purist, but seriously, mauve M&Ms? You could put out a bowl for company and match it with your decor while you're at it.

There's a kosher section with big, beautiful cupcakes ($4.50 each). One looks like a black and white cookie and another like a Hostess cupcake.

The holiday section is now filled with bunnies ($2.95-$14.95, based on size), hand-dipped chocolate-covered matzo ($16.95 per pound), and macaroons ($16.95 per pound) in regular, chocolate, coconut almond and walnut raisin.

If you're planning a Seder with children, you might want bags of plagues ($14.95). Honest. Inside the small burlap sacks are toys that represent some of the curses to help tell the Passover story, including a frog, a little vial of "blood," hailstones and a locust.

If you're just visiting friends, you could bring along a chocolate pizza covered in M&Ms and caramel on a caramel popcorn base ($20.95). For friends on a diet, you can choose 25-calorie, fat-free snowbird cookies ($7.95 per pound) or tasty toasts ($10.95 per pound) made from egg whites. They come in flavors like vanilla and chocolate chip, cinnamon raisin, lemon chip, almond chip and peanut butter chip.

For those only slightly on a diet, you can mix and match low-calorie taffy "lite" chews ($7.95 per pound) in creamsicle, raspberry, strawberry, chocolate fudge, lemon, cherry, licorice and cinnamon.

If you or a loved one is undergoing chemotherapy, Mittleman carries barley candy ($12.50). This hard, citrus-flavored candy is known to take the metal taste out of your mouth during treatment.

There's an entire wall of fresh nuts, dried fruits and chocolate-covered goodies sold by the pound. All over the store, you'll find cookie favors, candy favors and cupcake favors for every imaginable occasion. Mittleman also designs lovely platters and baskets in every size and price range. I'm not sure how to describe her large decorated bowls, except to say they have two layers; in between the layers, you can ask for your favorite treats and Mittleman designs patterns right into the bowl. They're so cool, I have no idea why you'd want to put anything else inside.

Everything is really wrapped beautifully at Ain't We Sweet -- something I'm seeing less and less of these days. It's indicative of the attention to detail in this 17-year-old business, and I'm sure the shop's longevity has a lot to do with service -- something I've been trying to teach my son since he really did believe in the Easter Bunny.

"Taste of New Jersey" appears every other week in Savor. Please send news of your favorite finds with your name and telephone numbers to Savor, "Taste of New Jersey," The Star-Ledger, 1 Star-Ledger Plaza, Newark, N.J. 07102. All submissions become the property of The Star-Ledger and will not be returned; submissions may be edited and may be published or otherwise reused in any medium.